Addiction Medicine and Smartphone-Based E-Consult During the COVID-19 Lockdown

A recent study illustrated how the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) Digital Academy, Bangalore, with the collaboration of Project ECHO worked throughout the pandemic to develop capacity for substance abuse disorder (SUD) management through telehealth, training over six thousand five hundred health care providers. The Centre of Addiction Medicine, NIMHANS initiated an…

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April 2021 E-Consult Workgroup Webinar

The April E-Consult Workgroup Webinar featured Joseph Simonetti, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Clinical Investigator, Colorado School of Public Health presenting the recent publication, Cost Savings Associated with Electronic Specialty Consultations, based on a study of the Veterans Health Administration e-consult program. In addition, Scott Brunner, MD, Monarch Healthcare, shared examples of e-consult cost effectiveness. You can view…

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April 2021 Central Valley E-Consult Coalition Meeting

The E-Consult Workgroup is a gathering of provider organizations, payers, and patient advocate organizations from across the country who share program successes, best practices and published research supporting the expansion and sustainability of e-consult. This month’s workgroup featured Joseph Simonetti, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Clinical Investigator, Colorado School of Public Health presenting the recent publication, Cost…

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Scaling E-Consult Success

An observational cohort study published in the American Journal of Managed care examined administrative data of all veterans who received an e-consult across 41 specialties and 1269 VHA medical centers and clinical sites from 2012 to 2018. The authors found that the number of e-Consults increased by 309% for all specialties by 2018. It was found that…

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Major Cost Savings Associated with VHA E-Consults

A study across the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) shows that e-consults improve access to specialty care, shorten wait times, and reduce outpatient visits. Across 11 specialties, patients receiving an e-consult had significantly lower health care costs compared with patients receiving a face-to-face consultation. This was largely driven by differences in outpatient costs. Patients receiving an e-consult had…

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Pandemic Changes what Doctor’s Visits Look Like

In this opinion piece, Dr. Barnett argues that fewer visits caused by the pandemic is a much needed and welcome change in managing patients’ healthcare. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/11/after-pandemic-visiting-doctor-will-never-be-same-thats-fine/

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E-Consult Saves Time and Expense

Communication between primary doctors and specialists using e-consult reduces delays in specialty care and decreases costs. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/upshot/when-email-comes-to-the-doctors-office-wait-times-decrease.html

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